


I Could Have Died A Thousand Times

by sillyboyblue



Category: The Hitcher (1986)
Genre: Gen, John keeps accidentally killing Jim, pure angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-09
Updated: 2017-01-15
Packaged: 2018-09-16 01:12:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 1,509
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9267143
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sillyboyblue/pseuds/sillyboyblue
Summary: 4 times John killed Jim, 1 time John saved Jim and 1 time Jim killed John





	1. Chapter 1

It was not his fault.

Jim had been distracted from the road as he was trying to warn the family from the hitchhiker they had picked up. He had not seen the bus coming -- neither had John. It was only when he heard the crash that he understood that something terrible had happened.

He tried to get a glimpse of Jim's car with the foolish hope that the kid would be alright -- but the noise had been so deafening... It would take a miracle.

"Stop the car." 

As the driver was speeding up, John grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and pulled slightly, but enough for it to press on his windpipe.

"You're gonna stop this car right now. We've gotta help him !"  
"That kid's dead !"

John pulled his knife on the man, dangerously close to his jugular.

His wife started weeping in fear and shook her husband's shoulder.

"Please darling, do as he says."

The man pulled up on the side of the road and John stormed out of the car. The children were dead silent.

John raced to Jim's car and opened the door -- what was left of it. Jim's body fell out of the car and John caught him before he hit the ground. 

"Jim..."

John fell to his knees and cradled the kid like a mother. Soon John's clothes were soaked with blood. 

It was an accident and John knew that it was not his fault but he felt guilty anyway. He had only just met the kid -- and he had felt something. This one was special. And he had lost him.

A crowd formed around the two men, like vultures trying the get a glimpse of the dying boy. Jim was not dead yet but he was fading away and there was nothing John could do but hold him and pray that he would make it while knowing that he would not.


	2. Chapter 2

The pick up collided with the garage door with a deafening sound. Jim legs reacted before his brain as he took off in the opposite direction, but he tripped and fell to the ground as John's vehicle crashed into the gas pumps, covering Jim in gasoline. The kid rolled in a desperate attempt to get as far away as he could from the wheels, but John stopped right in front of him. Their gazes met for a split second but long enough for Jim to notice how cold John's eyes were. 

As soon as Jim saw the match between John's fingers, he knew he was going to die. He scrambled to his feet and raced in direction of his car in a last attempt to save his life. 

John dropped the match and everything caught fire. He backed up his pick up to watch the result of his work from a safe distance. The whole place was in chaos. John found it beautiful.

He waited for Jim's car to emerge from the flames before disappearing again in the desert. But time passed and there was no sign of him. After long minutes that felt like an eternity, he resigned himself to leave before the cops showed up.

He found out in the next day's newspaper that a carbonized car with the remains of a young man's body was found among the debris of the gas station.


	3. Chapter 3

Jim held the gun under his chin with both hands. They were steadier than he thought they would be and it scared him.

He was determined to put an end to it all, to break free from the nightmare. 

He did not know, could not understand why John was doing this to him. He kept putting him in danger but always made sure not to kill him. Just like a cat keeps a mouse alive long enough to play with it until it grows bored. When would John get bored of Jim and decide to kill him ?

Jim dared not think about all the things John could do to him. He knew his death would be slow and painful. Why wait when he could just kill himself quickly and painlessly ? 

John was watching the kid from afar but he was not worried. He knew that Jim was not able to cross the line. The gun was empty anyway.

He was wrong.

A gunshot resonated and Jim's body slumped to the ground, face first into the sand.

There was one remaining bullet in the barrel and it was now deep into Jim's head. 

John had been too far and broke his favorite toy.


	4. Chapter 4

John showed up right after the helicopter appeared all of a sudden behind Jim and Nash's already destroyed stolen car. 

One more annoyance, but then again, what would he not do for Jim ? He lifted his pistol in direction of the flying engine and shot two or three times. 

Jim was too focused on the road to notice anything, but Nash stared at the man in the pick up as everything finally made sense in her head. Jim had been innocent all along.

The helicopter lost its balance in the sky and John smiled in satisfaction. 

But the helicopter crashed right in front of the kids' car, and the explosion wiped away what remained of the rolling carcass. The police cars collided against the pile of burning metal as well and went flying and crashed against the cement after rolling over a few times -- enough to kill drivers and passengers.

John stopped his pick up and walked in direction of the crime scene. He only cared about one person -- the others deserved to die. He leaned over the broken window of the burnt car and remained frozen in front of the carbonized body that he knew belonged to Jim.

He ran back to his pick up before more cops showed up -- but right after starting the engine, he opened the door to throw up.


	5. Chapter 5

John always kept an eye on Jim. He was never truly worried about the kid. He always managed to find his way out of every situation. Why should he be worried ?

But at the moment, Jim was in a delicate situation. None of the cops he came across had treated him well, but this one seemed worse than the others. Of course John could not hear their conversation, but even after Jim put his hands up behind his head, he kept holding him at gunpoint.

Perhaps it was time for John to interfere. But he could not. There were too many witnesses. If the passengers of an entire bus saw him, he would be in deep shit.

But when he heard gunshots and saw the kid fall to the ground, he did not care about anything else than Jim. He could not believe that those bastards shot a kid. He saw red and started the engine of the pick up. He sped up and honked like a madman so that the two killer cops would move away from Jim's body. He nearly crashed into the bus but changed direction at the last moment with the deafening sound of screeching tires. 

The two cops were running for their lives, but they were not fast enough. John ran them both over and felt a temporary satisfaction at the sound of broken bones under his tires. But soon he turned around to stop and jump out of the pick up. He did not care about witnesses anymore. Only Jim mattered. He gathered his small body in his arms and laid him on the backseat. 

Then he disappeared in the desert once again. 

Once he was sure that no one would find them, he examined Jim's injuries. The kid had been shot once in the shoulder and once in the chest. John removed the bullets with his knife while Jim was unconscious and tore the sleeve of his shirt to press it to the wounds and stop the bleeding.

John finally allowed himself to let out the breath he did not know he was holding. 

Jim would live.


	6. Chapter 6

Jim knew that Nash would not live. He had known all along, but he had tried to protect her no matter what because some foolish hope remained in his heart. 

John handed him the gun and Jim took it without hesitation. He studied John's face. A drop of sweat was hanging from his nose like the first time they met.

"Put it in my face." John turned his head to face Jim and pressed his finger between his own eyes. "Right here."

John's eyes were wide and unfocused and Jim could tell that the man was scared. No wonder he could not kill himself. He was a coward.

Jim waited. He had John at his mercy. A gunshot and Nash's screams would die and so would John. He just had to pull the trigger.

John closed his eyes and whispered barely audibly :

"I want to die."

That was the signal. Jim squeezed the trigger and John fell dead on his lap. The truck rolled and Nash got ripped in half.

Jim had no choice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the end of this heartbreaking story. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.


End file.
